


The Gotham Pantheon

by rhyfel



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Misunderstandings, Other Batfamily mentioned, Superstition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 03:55:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14662794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhyfel/pseuds/rhyfel
Summary: The first criminal Batman faces says "I swear to God."Batman replies "Swear to me."Based on the idea that criminals really are superstitious and Batman should be more careful with his words.





	The Gotham Pantheon

**Author's Note:**

> Everything's made up and the timeline doesn't matter.

Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot. Just ask Batman. In a city where everyone is a criminal or knows a criminal, you learn a thing or two about criminal psychology. You also learn to be careful about word choice. Because in a city where everyone is a criminal or knows a criminal, there is going to be a lot of fear and superstition. And, of course, when you’re as dedicated to The Drama™ as Batman is, word choice plus fear plus superstition can equal a multi-year misunderstanding that still resurfaces from time to time. Case in point? Batman is a god.

Not capital-g God, obviously. More like Odin. A god amongst gods. Which makes me Thor. Hood would definitely be Loki. But without all of the pregnancies. With the attempted murder though. More similarities than differences, is what I’m saying.

Sorry. Got off topic.

As I was saying. Batman is a god. A dark and ancient god. Awoken when Gotham needed him most. Or possibly awoken when Gotham had shed too much blood. I've heard both interpretations. Either way, speak not his name lest you draw his terrible justice upon you. That kind of god.

There were even rituals, you can see a lot of holdovers in Gotham today. Half the broken streetlights are because people thought The Batman couldn’t stand the light. The candles on street corners are for me. Because while The Batman is darkness and justice, The Robin is light and determination. And having a lit candle in front of the apartment of a murderer or a rapist or an abuser does make our jobs a bit easier. Of course, half of the street lights out combined with lit candles on corners does lead to a lot of accidents. There are pros and cons.

Batgirl got the best rituals though. She also got all the cool names. See, Batman was never spoken of. In fact, for the first few years he was active, he was never mentioned by name. It was always, “Muggers brought to justice” and “Maroni second in command no longer welcome in the dark.” Later they felt comfortable using the “Dark Knight” moniker, but there is still very little in Gotham media about Batman. Even alien invasions are stopped by “Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter, and Gotham’s Dark Knight.”

I, of course, was “The Robin.” Once I was referred to as “The Bringer of Light.” Which was cool. But Batgirl, she got so many names, so many rituals. No one really knew what to do with her. First she was The Idiot Swinging Around Gotham With The Audacity To Claim The Batman. (No one ever said Gothamites were good at names.)

But then she changed.

From our point of view Batman decided he couldn’t let her work in Gotham without proper equipment and training so she stayed off the streets for a few weeks while we went over that, then came back with some new moves and a suit made out of kevlar.

From Gotham’s point of view, The Idiot Who Was Wearing A Ski Mask And Taking The Batman’s Name In Vain went missing. From Gotham’s point of view, she disappeared for weeks. From Gotham’s point of view, she came back stronger, faster, invincible.

It’s amazing what a mass delusion can do for a vigilante’s image.

So, of course, she was no longer The Idiot. The Batman had claimed her. Somehow. The theories ranged from the gross and completely insulting to the outright impossible. The two theories that stuck were that she was a priestess of The Batman or a once-human who caught his attention and who he turned into a demon, or a demigod. A Batgirl. And her nicknames were now the Priestess of Darkness, Bringer of Mercy, The Lost One.

Either way she was human, or had been recently enough that she might remember human concerns. So they gave her offerings of food and money. Not a lot, obviously. Whatever she may once have been, she was now The Batman’s. But freshly baked muffins left on a fire escape, or pennies lining a balcony, these were offered up in exchange for her mercy. And with each offering was a note. The people of Gotham left Batman to his swift justice, called for me with lit candles when they had no other hope, but gave Batgirl their prayers. I think even then she liked the information she gleaned from them.

But like all good things it had to come to an end. Batman decided he wanted to work with the rest of the heroes in the Justice League, I became Nightwing, we had a new Robin.

But honestly? Superstitions are hard to shake. The pantheon keeps growing. And like lucky socks, knocking on wood, and play-off beards, even people who should know better still keep to the rituals. Candles are left on street corners, homemade food appears in window sills, balconies are ringed by pennies. And new ones, the first cup of coffee set aside for the Bloody Robin, an extra sandwich packed in lunches for the Signal, embroidered bandages tied to window bars for Orphan. 

Gotham may be 95% sure we're human, but we're also their protectors. And that makes us something more.


End file.
